In classic cop-speak, the bold, agile perp had a practiced M.O., or modus operandi. He was promptly crowned The King of Diamonds. Thats also the title of Rena Pedersons saga of the master thiefs rampage. Deeply researched and fluidly written. Its quite a yarn. -- The Wall Street Journal King of Diamonds is an enjoyable read, in large measure because of Pedersons extensive, high-quality research, obtaining compelling info from and about her subjects. Pederson interviewed more than 200 cops, victims and neighbors. The result is as much a sociology study of upper-crust Dallas society as a true crime story, enlivened by her sprightly writing style -- The Star Tribune As Cary Grant remarks in To Catch a Thief, I never stole from anybody who would go hungry. Rena Pederson uses that line as the opening epigraph of her intriguing and highly readable thriller The King of Diamonds. Pedersons writing is at its sharpest when she says of one fellow that he was the kind of man who looked as if he slept in a tuxedo and, some evenings, did. -- Alexander Larman, The Washington Examiner This riveting investigation from Pederson probes a series of unsolved Texas jewel thefts from the 1950s and 60s. With a novelists gift for description and a detectives keen eye for evidence, Pederson considers suspects ranging from gigolos to interior designers and jewelers. Its a pleasure to watch her cross them off her list one by one until she resurrects a convincing theory that the cases original investigators were unable to pursue. This is a must-read for any true crime buff. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) Perfect for true-crime lovers who want a story about sinister thefts that aims to uncover the psychological motivations behind some sensational crimes. Award-winning journalist Pederson sets out to find the identity of the King of Diamonds, uncovering well-kept Dallas secrets and answering some of the most puzzling questions. Her investigation is easy to follow as she takes readers down her research rabbit hole of this real-life whodunit and her conclusions. -- Library Journal Dallas has long promoted an image of pious country clubbers with big cars and big hair. But the city also has been home to a groaning underbelly of thieves, hustlers, racketeers, and other assorted felons. With King of Diamonds, Rena Pederson has joined these two worlds, and she has done so with verve, style, and astonishing historical detail. Going back decades, she cracks open a long-forgotten vault of amazing cat-burglar grabs and incredible escapades. When it comes to high-dollar jewelry heists, this book is pure gold. * Doug J. Swanson, author of Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangst * A simply riveting whodunitdramatic, thrilling and sometimes hilarious, as a daring cat burglar in the 1960s outwits the cops and plunders the wealthiest mansions of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Perhaps whats most amazing is that the story is all true. The veteran journalist Rena Pederson takes us on a wild ride through that now almost forgotten era. After years of research, she also identifies who could have been the King of Diamonds. Pederson has produced a true crime tour de force. -- Skip Hollandsworth, author of The Midnight Assassin and executive editor at Texas Monthly This book is irresistible, not just because of the waves of suspense and surprise it so expertly surfs, but because its such an authoritative summoning of Dallass crazy Gilded Age. Rena Pederson is a relentless reporter but such a storyteller that you feel that shes spinning out this can-you-believe-it tale from a cozy booth at the Cipango Club. -- Stephen Harrigan, New York Times bestselling author of The Gates of the Alamo, and of Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas Praise for Rena Pederson Writing a biography of a living legend is never easy, especially when the living legend is legendarily inaccessible. A fascinating biography. * The Dallas Morning News * An ambitious and necessary work. * The Cleveland Plain Dealer *
